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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Owen Smith attacks 'delusional' Corbyn over Labour polls | Owen Smith attacks 'delusional' Corbyn over Labour polls |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Labour leadership hopeful Owen Smith has accused Jeremy Corbyn of being "delusional" about the party's prospects of power under his tenure. | Labour leadership hopeful Owen Smith has accused Jeremy Corbyn of being "delusional" about the party's prospects of power under his tenure. |
| Mr Smith told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg Labour would be "decimated" if there was an election tomorrow. | Mr Smith told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg Labour would be "decimated" if there was an election tomorrow. |
| He insisted there was "everything still to play for" in the contest and would not rule out standing again if Mr Corbyn won. | |
| Mr Corbyn says he will unite Labour to take on the Tories if he wins. | Mr Corbyn says he will unite Labour to take on the Tories if he wins. |
| He points to a surge in party membership under his leadership as evidence that he is building a "mass movement" capable of winning a general election with his allies saying the Tories are "in retreat". | He points to a surge in party membership under his leadership as evidence that he is building a "mass movement" capable of winning a general election with his allies saying the Tories are "in retreat". |
| 'Disastrous trajectory' | 'Disastrous trajectory' |
| But Mr Smith said: "I think that's delusional, and I think Jeremy needs to think a bit more about that straight, honest politics that he started his campaign with." | But Mr Smith said: "I think that's delusional, and I think Jeremy needs to think a bit more about that straight, honest politics that he started his campaign with." |
| He said: "The straight, honest truth is that we are right now at our lowest ebb in the polls, ever. | He said: "The straight, honest truth is that we are right now at our lowest ebb in the polls, ever. |
| "If there was an election tomorrow Labour would be decimated, and that's got to be a shock to Labour's system." | "If there was an election tomorrow Labour would be decimated, and that's got to be a shock to Labour's system." |
| He said Mr Corbyn was "misleading himself if he thinks we are heading towards an election victory". | He said Mr Corbyn was "misleading himself if he thinks we are heading towards an election victory". |
| If Labour continued on its current "disastrous trajectory", Mr Smith said, it would be left with as little as 140 MPs. It currently has 230, with the Conservatives on 329. | If Labour continued on its current "disastrous trajectory", Mr Smith said, it would be left with as little as 140 MPs. It currently has 230, with the Conservatives on 329. |
| 'Unity' | |
| "If Jeremy is deluding himself that we are heading to victory I do not think the rest of the party or the country can afford to be deluded about where we are," he said, claiming Labour was "in the doldrums" and that it faced "Groundhog Day" if Mr Corbyn won. | |
| Labour will announce its new leader at a special conference on 24 September. | |
| Mr Corbyn, who won an overwhelming victory in last summer's leadership contest, is the bookies' favourite. | |
| But Mr Smith said he would "fight this right up until the last minute", saying many people had yet to vote. | |
| Asked whether he would stand for the leadership again if Mr Corbyn wins, he said: "I am not ruling anything in or anything out," adding that this was "a hypothetical question for the dim and distant future". | |
| Both candidates were challenged on their electability in last week's Question Time debate, with Mr Corbyn predicting that after the contest, "you will see something happening...which is that unity to take on the Tories on what they are doing in the country". |